Tag: Berlin

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Odessa Berlin Odessa

With a sense of partnership, it is possible to travel between Odessa and Berlin in the “Gemäldegalerie” in Berlin 2025. Due to the war of Putin in Ukraine the “Museum of Western and Eastern Art” in Odessa had to relocate its treasures to safe places. The Gemäldegalerie offers a chance to view the splendid collection nevertheless. The curators’ team in a spirit of “art intelligence” propose, in a splendid way, most oeuvres from Odessa next to an example by the same painter from the Berlin collection. The visitor leaves the exhibition enriched by an experience of “jumelage” (engl. sister cities) of partnerships between museums, cities and their people.
In fact, we have shared the same imagery or visual heritage in Europe for centuries . The collections of paintings ranges from the 16th -19th century art  or from Frans Hals to impressionist influences.
We shall cherish the return of the collection to Ukrainian Odessa as soon as possible. The image below shows the places of origin (yellow dots) of the art works of the Odessa collection across centuries (map from the exhibition).

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Dépaysé in gallery

The installation ar the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin entitled „Fog Sculpture“ takes us from the sculpture garden of the Gallery into a tropical forest atmosphere. Just changing the humidity and visibility through the artificial production of fog transforms the perception of the artworks. A kind of Asian flair surrounds the western sculptures in the garden. The fog installs also a mystification whoch we know in art from the romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich for example. All long-term followers shall appreciate the new perception of the artworks thanks to Fujiko Nakayo. It’s definitely more than old wine in new bottles. The artwork brings a more global twist to the preexisting sculptures and reminds us in Berlin even of the wrapping and unwrapping of the  Reichstag building by Jeanne-Claude Christo. We see the sculptures or architecture differently after they disappeared temporarily and reappear again.

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Berlin building

Yes, 35 years after re-unification Berlin is still building at lots of places. The boom years of building hotels for tourists, offices for ministries, which were moving from Bonn to Berlin, is now followed by a „surprising“ need to have sufficient vacancies in private housing. Berlin is still growing in terms of population and, of course, this creates additional upward pressure on the housing market with particularly high increases on the rental market. In order to achieve a narrowing of the gap between demand and supply, Berlin is building higher as well as digging deeper into its sandy ground. In such huge open spaces near Südkreuz it is then feasible to explore and later exploit geothermal energy for years to come. Maybe it is not a surprise that apparently a Texas (USA) based investor has bought the ground and builds in Berlin. Drilling in Berlin for energy from underneath is a worthwhile business. Hence, drill baby drill has a new Berlin meaning to it. 

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Dream together

„Dream together“ is the title of the exhibition of Yoko Ono at the „Neue Nationalgalerie“ in Berlin 2025. The title is an invitation or even an incitement to dream jointly with others. We need to dream of peace on all sides or parties in a war. Start with the dream and then move on to working together on it. The participatory art projects of Yoko Ono are a recurring event in Berlin and at the Neue Nationalgalerie (Cut piece). The installation „Wish Tree for Berlin“ in front of the gallery is popular with visitors who leave hundreds of written wishes to the windy spring days. Origami folding, stone assembling or a simultaneous chessboard playing with all white pieces and fields encourage to imagine a world differently, beyond the treaded belligerent paths. For more inspiration and imagination just continue to the Martin Gropiusbau for more artworks from Ono or just watch the clouds pass by changing the lighting of the olive tree carrying lots of wishes.

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Lviv Ukraine

Small galleries can make a real difference. In Berlin the gallery “streulicht” has a selection of photos in an exhibition that portraits artist from Lviv in Ukraine. Hans Hugo Hoffmann manages in his photographs to depict the extraordinary resilience of Ukrainian creative persons who live through a protracted war of their country against the Russian aggressor. The persons embody the strength of resisting through their art work despite the wounds inflicted on their families or the people of Lviv and the whole of Ukraine due to the war. The persons portrayed try to continue their normal day to day work, knowing that nothing is normal anymore in Ukraine. “Bizarre Normality” characterizes our perspective on these artists, who are thrown into a world of events that we no longer thought might be possible in Europe. Bucha and other crimes by Russian soldiers in this Russian aggression leave traces in the faces of Ukrainian people and even beyond. We all wish that the people of Ukraine can return to “normality” as soon as possible, although we know that nothing will be normal as it was before the Russian invasion.

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Local history

In Berlin and many other big cities in Germany like Munich and Hamburg there are local history projects which tell the stories of specific places or a house linked to liberation day or deportation or courageous acts during the Nazi  grip on Germany and terror across Europe. The initiative « Denkmal am Ort » has become a kind of citizen science project which brings people together to raise awareness again for the cruelties committed under the dictatorship of Hitler and the fascist political movements. Remembrance is not a passive form it can take many active forms as well by simply trying to find an answer to the question what happened during the 30s, 40 and 1950s in the house you are currently living in? Access to archives of cities and small towns can tell very surprising stories about local history. It is a great inter generational experience as well and sometimes the unspoken history turns into a great conversation about history and responsibilities. History is everywhere you just need to keep your eyes and mind open.

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Constitutional Responsibility

The memory of horrors caused by Nazi-led Germany before and during the 2nd World War is our constitutional obligation in the Federal Republic of Germany since its beginnings in 1948. 80 years after the unconditional surrender this has become a state responsibility. Since the shift of tone introduced by Richard von Weizäcker on 8th of May 1985 framing the end of the 2nd WW as liberation day in Europe and Germany. On the same day, 40 years later, the top 5 political instances of democracy in Germany, president, chancellor, presidents of the parliament (1st chanber), the council of the regions (2nd chamber) as well as the constitutional court. The constitutional and moral responsibility of the crimes is not reserved to a presidential address, but all pilars of democracy in Germany committed to the narrative of a liberation of Germans and Europeans at the end of the 2WW. It is a truly European topic to celebrate the end of war jointly in all countries. This is even more the case as the memories of the last survivors of the Shoa in Europe is less transmitted by the rare survivors until today due to very old age. The impressive unity of the top constitutional powers sets a the path for a far reaching renewal of the acknowledgement of a specific constitutional responsibility to counter extremist tendencies. The speeches by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Julia Klöckner in the Bundestag (Link in German) were remarkable in explaining in plain language, why we are happy about this liberation also in Germany. The emphasis of the end of pervasive and endless oppression and suffering caused by the Nazi-regime are an essential part of this feeling of liberation. With this commemoration Germany today has become even more a European nation which takes its historical responsibility seriously.

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Liberation Day

In Germany the celebration of the liberation day 2025-5-8 change years of mixed feelings about what happened during the 2nd world war. In Berlin this day is a bank holiday now and more and more people subscribe to the view that the liberation from Nazi-terror was a blessing for German people. The “Neue Wache” is the room of silence in honor of all victims. We shall always remember. Fighting the early tendencies remains the most effective strategy to avoid extremism of fascist groups. It is the task of Germans born also long after the war to keep the memory of the atrocities alive and to care about prevention of new ones.

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Ugly duckling revival

Ever since Hans Christian Andersen created the fairy tale of the “ugly duckling” (1843) the story has been adapted to all forms of theatre. The adaptation of the fairy tale to the stage in 2019 and the revival in 2023 at the “Deutsches Theater” in Berlin keeps inspiring people to surpass their restrictions or inhibitions, whatever they may be. This early 19th century fairy tale is a fine piece of the search of identity of a person. As it deals with the difficulty of individuals to find their own identity, the fairy tale deals already with the fitting of an individual into society. Society exercises pressure on individuals to conform to written and unwritten rules, which tend to hold up rules like “one size fits all”. Differentiation and allowing individuals to be different from an established norm becomes a central theme of modernity and even more so in the post-modern world. It is the essence of democratic societies to practice a tolerance of persons being or just wanting to be different. The performance at the “Deutsches Theater” might be a test of your level of tolerance or acceptance of diversity for some, but at the time of rising intolerance in and beyond the U.S. under Trump, such performances are dearly needed to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and achievements of far reaching tolerance. It becomes more evident what we are about to loose (again), if such performances would no longer be possible in a controlled or financially overly restricted world of theatre.

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Persistent beauty

The fashion industry is known for its fast turnover of beautiful designs from season to season. Some designs and often just single pieces survive the fast turnaround of the fashion industry. In many cities we find shops that sell so-called vintage cloths and objects. For men and women it is feasible to rediscover pieces of longer lasting beauty or even persistent beauty. The persistence of an image of beauty may follow the classics of designers and specific brands, but it may also have a very personal touch referring more to a person’s own life course (when we were young) or associated with freeing yourself from your family or societal context. The 60s and  70s were such time periods with radically changing images and ideas about beauty. Since then more individualised clothing seems to take hold, although there is an equally strong tendency of social or age groups to identify themselves through specific clothing, showing that you belong to the “in-group”.

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Archi Octagon

The architecture we see around us has lots of interesting mathematical features. Some are the basis for more complicated calculations. The octagon shape is not that common, but with some formulas the calculations become easier and construction in the real world is more feasible. Well worth to dig a bit deeper into this shape. The geometry of angles and circumference follows rules that have been laid out a long time ago. The webpages explaining this are manifold and it is a project of its own kind to compare them and recommend the best ones. My current favorite is: mathmonks. A reasonable choice is in most cases also wikipedia, the long running amazing knowledge project also for the octagon.

Image: Berlin Europa Center 2025.

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Kids Gaming

The pressure on children and their parents is high to succumb to the temptation of digital and online gaming. Albeit there are many funny and learning alternatives for them if they are accompanied by an instructor to build or invent their own game. With some adaptations it is possible to assemble for example a coordination game for children which directs a small ball through a labyrinth. Add speed and tricky holes to the “parcour” and the race is on. It is little bit like hands-on physics as the speed and acceleration patterns across the parcour varies a lot. Planning, building and playing are an ensemble in this simple game. Probably also more fun than the x-th repetition of a digital game.

(Inspiration from: Berliner Kultur gestalten, workshops for children).

 

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Owners Dispute

Renovations of housing with distributed ownerships can be a challenging experience. In Berlin you can find a few places with visible long-term disagreement about what kind of modernization should be done. More luxurious additions like balconies or triple window isolation and so on are sometimes hotly debated and contested in courts. For most buildings you cannot spot disagreements on the outside, but some constitute exceptions to this rule. One size does not fit all preferences. In a metropolitan city there is a place and a space for all such exceptions to the rule and most people after years do no longer think about such kind of diversity in preferences or budgets available for modernization. Cities put our level of tolerance to a continuous test. You probably learn to love this or eventually you leave the inner city. There are subtle differences in urban versus rural lifestyles. In the social sciences we continue to try to understand the attraction of cities as on a global scale millions of people flock to cities.

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Bricks and algorithms

Construction as an economic sector has suffered for decades from skill shortages. The PWC study on skill needs in construction and management of digitalization in this sector shows various deficiencies. Labor demand in excess of own training efforts in the related professions is further increasing in coming years. Migrants from across the world have come to Europe to fill the skill shortages and willingness to work in the sector. Population aging increases demand for adaptions of housing and tertiarization of the economy asked for new office space and adaptation of existing ones. 

The skills involved in construction have also evolved. Digitalization and understanding of new technology needs of modern housing increased the level of cognitive skills in the sector enormously. “just let the liquid concrete flow” will no longer suffice. Environmental obligations, renewable energy and design issues had an impact on the sector. 

Many enterprises in this sector have trailed other sectors to adopt strategies like digital pairs of a building or connected manufacturing of facilities with data sharing and compatible software. All this led to the fact that younger employees or university graduates (m/f/d) have preferred other sectors. IT development and applications are interesting and challenging in this sector as well. Logistic arrangements a formidable task as well. 

The claim of too much bureaucracy is just an excuse for lacking digitalization of the sector. Years ago we stated that every task you carry out more than once can be automized. With AI in construction digitalization starts with each singular case as a learning occasion for humans and algorithms supporting us.

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Aufklärung Enlightenment

The period of the enlightenment is a historically defined time period of the late 17th and the whole 18th century. Although often associated only with Europe as its origin, the American contributions and influences have been far-reaching as well, just thinking of the “Declaration of Independence“. This historical period is, however, most interesting through the unrivalled contribution and pivotal point to the history of ideas. The exhibition and catalogue on the “Aufklärung – Enlightenment” by the German Historical Museum in Berlin exposes many of the historical editions of books that “made the enlightenment”. Philosophical writings and readings (Immanuel Kant: Kritik der …) of the period (especially in German) are tough even for native speakers of German, unlike reading of French (e.g. Jean-Jacques Rousseau) or English (e.g. John Locke) contributions to the enlightenment. Maybe this is already one of the reasons why in France the revolutionary ideas were put into practice through population-wide political movements.
The historical period of the enlightenment came to a close in the early 19th century (1806 another pivotal year). The English or French terms of enlightenment or lumière maybe be interpreted in a way that other historical periods like the medieval ages were periods of darkness, even later periods again did not live up to the idealist prerogatives of the evolution of humanity. The German term “Aufkärung” has its etymological roots more in the action associated with “to enlighten”. This hints at the continuing process of the ideas of the enlightenment in modern terms the process of individualisation, tolerance and autonomy.
There many valuable short interviews shown in the exhibition and Jürgen Habermas contributed a short closing statement to the catalogue of the exhibition on the unfinished project of the “Aufklärung” inviting us to continue also with the “Kritik der Aufklärung”. After all the enlightenment did not save us from repeated events like “Apokalyses“.
(Image: Émilie du Châtelet, below book on Newton Physics in DHM Enlightenment exhibition 2025).

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Hands-on AI

The use of AI in translation and to streamline texts and preparation of communication has become a common experience. The applications in medical fields are less well known. Scans and checking of skin cancer could be a game changer for many who live far away from the next medical doctor. AI assisted brain surgery is another issue, but a very specialized application. The interface of AI and robotics might be another game changer as such applications where you train the robot with for example weight lifting and transportation charges can contribute to alleviate human skeletons. Handheld devices can guide the robot and data from sensors will complement the learning of the tasks through assistance from AI. Applications are manifold and we have not even seen the most promising ones. The application potential in warfare are particularly troublesome as humans do not necessarily enter into the concern of AI-assisted weaponry. In the social sphere trust is a crucial behavioral and ethical concern. These issues AI can only learn from us. Any attempts to do without human input and control is doomed to fail. We are not indispensable yet, we are simply turning more and more into responsible, supervisory roles. 

(Image: Acatech exhibition with hands-on AI applications, Berlin in collaboration with IQZ and DTM, German museum of technology.)

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Berlin Mind

For a long time now, I have been asking myself the question: What is like to be in a „Berlin state of mind“. The exhibition of the 2 photographers of the Berlin Landesarchiv as part of the Berlin activities of the EMOP contributed to understanding and more precise description of the „Berlin state of mind“. As we shall celebrate in 2025 the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Europe, Germany and Berlin from Nazi rule and terror, we have seen endless reconstruction and reshaping of the city. The ever growing need for housing and space-grabbing office buildings bring about a permanent feeling of change, of becoming, of under construction. The years of the separated city as well as the building and taking down of the Berlin wall created many new opportunities for developers of the city and its structure of quarters, arrondisements or „Bezirke“ and „Kieze“ within the districts. 

Due to the continuous urban renewal also of basic infrastructure Berliners have the impression that there is construction work all around us all the time. With the abundant construction works come the construction fences. They too have changed. Some fences show digital prints of virtual worlds of the Berlin living in some future time. However, the promises often mask the reality that fences will be replaced by concrete walls and inaccessible buildings for most people of the neighborhood as gated business space or city blocks grab the space to form and reform the metropolitan landscape. The construction fences themselves become the contested areas where different strata of society interact or intersect. The „Berlin state of mind“ is one of becoming. Longing to become something else, something aware of the overwhelming historical duties, but still rising from the ashes. The experience to see a wall come down between cold war enemies liberates a belief that we can overcome frontiers. However, this in-between state of mind has brought us multiple fences of all sorts. Construction fences are only the most visible ones that surround the many spaces under construction. In the imagery of Berliners and visitors beyond the wall, fences are continuously on our minds in the „Berlin state of mind“.

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Digital Visions

Urban planning has been digitalized for a long time. 3D modeling of places and buildings including their interiors are state of the art. As urbanization is also about investment, speculation and anticipation, digital imaging has entered the public spheres in form of cover up of building sites behind fences and in form of large digital prints for information, curiosity and advertising purposes. The inner cities are frequently an avantgarde and microcosm of societal developments. Some dream of full or total flexibility for office spaces (see image below), others experience the inner cities as the spotlight of inequality in society. The best paid executives are catered for by the worst paid delivery personnel. The photographers of the Landesarchiv Berlin, Grönboldt and Wunstorf, brought together a documentary exhibition entitled „Pixel aus Beton“, pixel made of concrete.

With a bird‘s eye view they reveal past, present and future details of how Berlin is experienced and envisioned by investors, architects and people living through the seemingly endless construction going on in the city. The keywords list as part of the exhibition creates a link to scientific literature and to the TU Center for Metropolitan Studies. Photography and even more so digital photography offers a social science perspective to the digital images exhibited. Cities are data spinning areas and a formidable place for digital visuals and visions.

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Art Physics

Art is a matter of perspectives. In physics the change of perspectives and even theories about perspectives using optical instruments or illusions enlightens our understanding of the universe. 2D or 3D perspectives by V. Vasarely add yet another dimension through the oppositional hanging facing the Hollow Mirror Objects (convex and concave) by A. Luther (see images below). The curators succeeded in putting both art works with their incorporation of physical principles in an enriching dialogue. Art speaks to us in many languages. In more general terms, there is an underexploited aspect of exposing art. Rather than focusing on a single artist or school of artists in particular, exhibitions may focus on the interrelationships and new ways of combining or communicating images. This is human intelligence. Artificial intelligence will do this without prejudice and my own private collection of images of art works as a similar fountain of innovation as well. (Image Exhibition Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin 2024-12).

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Films of Stills

The exhibition of multimedia artist Nan Goldin at the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) in Berlin presents a retrospective of her work using slideshows of stills including soundtracks (Image below). The topics and narratives range from autobiographical work on own traumatic experiences to works entitled „memory lost“. The sequences of stills are a form to deal with trauma through art like overcoming the suicide of a family member. Drug or sexual dependency enter the stills and it becomes clear that stillness is part of the coping mechanism she employs. It is hard to watch, sit still and endure the films of stills. However, there is a kind of therapeutic experience to be gained in coping with trauma through art. The installation in several tents increases the reclusive atmosphere and entering the still rooms invites is, somehow including a warning of what kind of chilling experience we are up to throughout the exhibition. The almost therapeutic experience needs to be handled with care and a visit with friends or family is highly recommended in my view. Community and communication are key to coping with these experiences and even still images contribute to building resilience.

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Question Tomorrow

« Tomorrow is the question ». This is the imprint on the 8 table tennis tables in the Martin Gropius Bau 2024. As part of the Contemporary art exhibition by the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, the tables are very busy throughout the day and invite people to meet, play and greet. If tomorrow is the question, today is the answer. Is it?  Maybe the answer is the day after tomorrow? Time appears to be the answer and the question. Such questions touch on basic philosophical questions about our relationship to and concept of time. Future orientation or even the belief in life after death touch upon basic religious beliefs. Intergenerational transmission is useless if there is no tomorrow or concept of tomorrow. Sustainability is most relevant if we are convinced there will be a tomorrow. Fatalists or warmongers rate today so much more than tomorrow that everything is subordinated to the urgency of now. Not easy to strike the right balance between „for now“ and „for tomorrow“. Simple financial discounting of benefits which accrue only tomorrow do not solve the urgency issue of behavioral concerns. My personal discounted value of ice cream tomorrow might be superior to ice cream now, but it is based on the tacit assumption that the shop still exists tomorrow or any other time in the future. The exhibition invites people not only to play table tennis but also to discuss the question of tomorrow across language barriers and across tables and cultures. 

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Phase Shifting

The Berlin “Hamburger Bahnhof Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart” recently acquired “Phase Shifting Index” by Jeremy Shaw. As part of an exhibition of new acquisitions, Sam Bardaouil, the director of the museum and curator of this exhibition has installed the large-scale video and sound installation at the end of the long corridor of the “Rieckhallen”. The impressive, even overwhelming art work was created in 2020. It was first shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
The piece consists of seven large suspended screensand creates a space like in dance club, discotheque or dance studio. The visual and sound experience is allmost psychedelic. The near obsessional dancing shown on the screens represent different periods of dancing with their particular patterns of movements and choreographies. The phase of the electromagnetic waves is shifting from one screen to the other and towards the end of the performances it becomes clear, that they all follow a similar wave or rave pattern. Sublimation or ecstasy are the underlying index-like common traits. Each period or decade 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, all had their peculiar dance and movement patterns. The video-installation is like a history of art of expression through body movement, amplified and indexed through rhythm and sound.
Electromagnetic waves can be characterized through wave shifting in various forms. This work gives us a feeling for the fascination of movement and phase shifting emotions. Don’t worry, the immersion ends after 10+ minutes and, if you like, you might read up on the physics of electromagnetic waves and phase shifting to calm you down.
Images: “Phase Shifting Index” by Jeremy Shaw, 2020, Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof, 2024-9

 

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Heat Stress

Heat causes cardiovascular and pulmonary stress. This has been well-known for a long time. A newly published epidemiological study for Germany reiterates this finding and adds more details to the picture of who is affected most by heat stress and heat-related mortality. Old age and being female increase the heat-related deaths in Germany according to the study by Zhang et al. (2024) published in the Lancet Regional Health. Our body’s thermoregular responses to heat stress like vasodilation or hyperventilation cause additional stress to our cardiovascular and pulmonary system. Excessive sweating and dehydration, possibly increased through medication, amplify heat-related risks. The study corrects the estimates by using fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data on the district level in the analysis. High concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2 increase heat stress and related deaths as well. Inner cities are, therefore, not the best place to be during the hot season. Most southern European inhabitants of big cities are aware of these health hazards and act accordingly. In Germany it is much less a habit to quit inner cities during the hot days in summer, but climate change will make this a major concern. Greening inner cities is an urgent necessity, which is not just nice to have, but saves lives. (Image Berlin Bears, Berlin City Center 2023)

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Gas light

Even if it sounds crazy from today‘s perspective gas lights once were the symbol of progress. In the middle of the 19th century gas lights started to lighten and brighten the boulevards of major cities in Europe. The historic evolution of the various designs can still be followed in Berlin in the open space museum of gas light in the Tiergarten area near Zoologischer Garten. These gas lights were brighter than candles or petroleum lights and needed less maintenance. The CO2 footprint was no concern at that time and also safety concerns have been tolerated. Mechanical maintenance was relatively easy and sufficiently qualified personnel still abundant. All this has changed and the lamp posts powered by gas are mostly a part of industrial history now. The image below shows a fine example from Amsterdam. The solid construction shows nice ornaments on steel. The rounded shape remained quite unique.
Unfortunately, the accessibility of the museum has contributed to the loss of many nice examples of gas light designs. Many were destroyed during the football world cup in Berlin in 2006. Let’s hope the Tiergarten survives the Euro2024 better than the previous huge football events and Love parades. Serious precautions have been taken with quite solid fences to protect the inner city wild life.

Berlin Gas Light Museum
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Family Kafka

100 years after Franz Kafka’s death nearly all facets of his life and writings have been analyzed. The archives of the editor Wagenbach and the publishing house have now opened an exhibition at the “Stabi Ost” in Berlin adding a family picture book description of Kafka’s life (Curator Hans-Gerd Koch). This is of interest because Kafka himself had written an extensive letter to his father (Brief an den Vater) in which he tries to understand his intricate relationship with his father and other family members.
Nowadays, some people would try to analyze Kafka’s life through the parapsychological technique of family constellations. The far-reaching and pan-European family networks of the Kafka (father) and Löwy (mother) families were more than just an excellent source of inspiration. 2 younger brothers died in their first year. 3 younger sisters followed more traditional evolutionary patterns within families. The television series on Kafka’s life add to the understanding of his sources of inspiration and “parallel worlds” he created and lived in. The exceptional “fictionalization” of his own life and existence in the spirit of André Breton’s surrealism remains a milestone in the history of literature.
Kafka himself thought he was not really “instagrammable”at the time, but his image has reached and still reaches millions of people (Link to Picture archive). He himself would probably have defended the thesis that the most powerful images are within us. … and they are hard to escape from.
(Image from Exposition in Staatsbibliothek Berlin 2024-4, QR-code links to reading in originals!)

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Election Re-election

Politics is a lot about decision making, coalition building and communication strategies. Therefore, there have been well established election and re-election cycles in all democracies, even the so-called illiberal pseudo-democracies. The time span between elections is itself a constituent part of democratic practice. 4 years of office for an elected parliamentarian seems to be common sense across many countries. More intensive participation and election schedules have advantages in tighter checks and balances, but may have disadvantages with respect to democratic fatigue, i.e. the time and effort needed to stay informed and cast votes. “Liquid democracy” is a concept of decision making which requires highly engaged persons willing to get involved beyond average commitments. Delegation to politicians within parties and parliaments remains an effective version of democratic practice. Checks against corruption and illegal practices is a necessary condition of each system of delegation. Rapidly changing governments are similarly perceived as a risk to democracies as the repeated call to the ballot box might be unsettling more than calming the spirits.
Berlin in 2024 (like 2023) provides another lesson on the sense of elections and re-elections. The repetition of parts of the federal election in parts of Berlin was required by the constitutional court. Due to failures in correct provision of access to voting and voting material results might have been biased. According to an online reporting by the local radio station (rbb24) based on the official electoral statistics, the participation in the re-election decreased from 75% to 51% in the 455 out of 2.256 districts that repeated the election. There seems to be a high level of democratic fatigue in these districts where the re-election in general accounts of participation in elections marks a low point in achievement. It appears worthwhile to question the judicial decision to repeat the election to the drastic reduction of representativity of the re-election. In statistical terms we trade one form of bias against another form of bias with an unclear overall outcome.
Organising elections is a professional task and requires specific competences. As this is at the heart of democracies, we need to improve our organisation and surveillance of this fundamental democratic process. Repetition seems to be worse than other second or third best solutions. Investing in democracy starts also at the ballot box. Electronic voting is not a panacea, but might be part of the solution. (Image source: Landeswahlleiter Berlin, left: Erststimmenmehrheit, right Wahlbeteiligung, combined election + re-election)

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West Europe

There has been a shift of political borders in Eastern Europe. Russia has been trying to shift its border further to the West by brutal force attacking Ukraine. Political defence and military action have managed to preserve western values in Ukraine. On the 13th of February 2024 the meteorological data confirm a clear belonging of Ukraine to the western climatic conditions. Temperatures in Kiev are very similar to the western hemisphere and very different from the cold in Moscow. This is just a little detail or coincidence but it bears a nice resemblance to the political weather currently in Europe. It is by all means much colder in Moscow than in western Europe. The time and the climate are a changing.

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Berlin Moscow

Some historians have a hard time to sort long-term relationships between countries into adequate periods. The ups and downs between Berlin and Moscow are a peculiar example of this. The artist Peter Laszlo Péri expressed this unease in a poster where both cities stand for the dictatorships presumably in the name of the working class. This alliance between Berlin and Moscow, Hitler and Stalin led to occupations of several neighboring countries and war in the following years. With an uncritical stance after German unification the Berlin Moscow link has again facilitated the land grab of Russia with Ukrainian territory. Buying complacency of Berlin in return for cheap oil and gas from Moscow has ended for most European countries now. Great to see Europe united with few minor exceptions and that alliances with other European cities reveal strong and powerful in hope of a more peaceful Europe.

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Clearing Rubbish

Just next to the Circular Line “Ringbahn” and the Gasometer in Berlin there is yet another huge area in preparation for further construction. The “Berlin Südkreuz” train station connects by ICE directly to Leipzig, Nurnberg and Munich. New company headquarters have been built in the direct neighbourhood and several housing blocks. Clearing more areas that mainly stocked rubbish like broken cars over years had to move out and thousands of people will be able to find new homes soon. Demand for such projects is still high, although the financing with high interest rates has become a challenge for private persons. Interesting building concepts have been realized in the district of Berlin with some focus on social and inclusive housing in a broad sense. A process of gentrification is also observable, whereby the higher rent in the district pushes out people and families that no longer can afford the increases, most of them even above inflation rates in the past few years.
The urban planning advances in large strides. With the almost finished Gasometer the vision from the visitors’ platform on the top will soon allow to observe the next construction site. Clearing rubbish is already a good step ahead. Getting rid of the pollution and contaminated ground will take some time as well.
In the East of Germany, the sun rises early and so do construction workers. We expect to continue to be early birds in this area. Maybe we can have a few additional trees, schools and a kindergarden as well for the newcomers. The whole local infrastructure will be put to yet another test. You have to like change and embrace the continuing challenge of becoming more densely populated in Berlin. It is a social lab right in our neighbourhood. The “Rote Insel” is clearing out its rubbish, the number of buggies with babies is rising fast now.

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Nachhaltigkeitskonzept

Ein Nachhaltigkeitskonzept gehört zum Bauen mittlerweile wie das Gelbe zum Ei. Die Einreichungen zum Realisierungswettbewerb eines Portals für das Deutsche Technik Museum Berlin hatten entsprechende Anforderungen zu erfüllen. Für ein Technik Museum können dazu die Anforderungen schon etwas höher sein und die oft geforderte „Technologieoffenheit“ oder die Diskussion darüber zumindest andeuten. Der Anerkennungspreis ging an ein Konsortium für die Einreichung 1110, die eine klare Übersicht ihres Nachhaltigkeitskonzepts vorstellten (siehe Auszug Image unten, Foto aus der Ausstellung 2023-12). Nachwachsende Baustoffe gehören zum Repertoire. Gleichzeitig sollte die Erhaltung oder gar Förderung der Biodiversität Teil der nachhaltigen Konzeption sein. Innerstädtisch ist die Rückumwandlung der Versiegelung der Böden eine wichtige gesundheitsfördernde Bauweise. Kühlung in den aufgeheizten Städten ist durch Grünflächen und Beschattung zu erreichen. Tolle Architekten sind das, die den Mut aufbringen den Stachel in die Wunde zu legen. Die Anwohnenden und Besuchenden würden es den Verantwortlichen jahrzehntelang danken.
Das sind längst keine abgefahrenen grünen Ideen oder Träumereien mehr. Paris hat es schon längst vor gemacht. Ganz nah beim Eiffelturm ist das „Musée du Quai Branly –  Jacques Chirac“ das als Neubau mit Garten vom konservativen Präsidenten Jacques Chirac eine grüne Naturoase mitten im Herzen Paris hat bauen lassen. Es ist immer noch eine Art Geheimtipp für Pariser in den zu warmen Sommermonaten. Berlin könnte wie mit der vom Pyramiden-Architekten Pei geplanten Eingangshalle vom Deutschen Historischen Museum mal wieder mit einem Nachhaltigkeitskonzept mit Paris gleichziehen. Gemeinsam können wir auch nachhaltig. Mit der vom Menschen und seiner Technik verursachten Erderwärmung haben die nachfolgenden Generationen noch lange genug zu kämpfen. Mehr Nachhaltigkeitskonzepte braucht die Technik. Das ist die wirkliche Herausforderung des 21. Jahrhunderts.